life. our children look to us with aspirational -- hope that their world will be kinder, speaker -- sweeter, smarter than the world we have known. each of these changes such as all of us. for you have taught us that we must count on one another, that our country is strong through community and that the children of israel and the weight that sanctified and cherished land -- on the way to that said the fight and cherished land and that capital city of jerusalem, that those children of israel did not walk to the bill predicted the wilderness alone. -- did not walk through the wilderness alone. wave -- maybe be guided by your

wisdom. may our souls be a large but empathy and uplifted by leaders and thinkers and teachers who believe in strength of soul and wild, wonderful visions. so together with right and left worshiping the same god, our nation, this is strong, blessed nation, filled with spirit and called to noble cause will become more passionate, more purposeful, more burnished and bright to the warmth of your embrace. and the extraordinary power, dear god, of your love. amen.

>> rabbi, one of my face leaders and the city of los angeles and. ladies and gentlemen, -- one of my faith leaders from the city of los angeles. ladies and gentleman, all those in favor signify by saying aye. do i hear second? do i hear a second? all in favor, please say aye. all opposed, say nay. the ayes have it and the motion is carried. the convention will recess until 4:00 p.m. tomorrow. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> is a few minutes past 1:00 a.m. eastern time on thursday morning. the democrats have just finished the two of their convention. c-span is with it till the bitter end. the roll-call is always a tradition. in convention proceedings to read now we have a half an hour to get your reaction. on twitter, there has been a lot of commentary about president clinton opposes peace.

our phone lines will be open. you can see the numbers on the bottom of the screen beneath me. we will also talk to a few delegates. the hall as clearing out pretty quickly. let's start there while we are waiting for your calls. >> it ended in wyoming so we will begin with some of the delegates. some of your first time delegates to the convention. let me go back to the speeches. what stood out tonight? >> president clinton. i thought he explain briefly the choice facing the nation between going back to the policies that got us into an historic level mess when president obama took over and the things we need to do to dig out and move forward together. >> what was the feeling inside the room with president clinton puzzle speech? >> electric. everybody was excited to have

someone explain what has actually been going on as opposed to listening to eight regurgitated smokescreen of rhetoric -- to a regurgitated smokescreen of rhetoric -- of rhetoric. people ask me what i do with these credentials of what i heard was that they will be asked to another event in the future so they can use them and say -- see the president's speech. >> the important thing is that people around the country hear the president tomorrow. it is likely to be in the building but the main thing is for him to make the case to the american people and explain that a lot of what is being said is absolutely wrong and that he has us on a course where we can recover from the economic downturn and get people in this country an opportunity to regret let me turn to a first-time delegate.

-- opportunity. >> let me turn to a first-time delegate. >> it was truthful. it was time we start hearing the truth and not fiction. i think that is going to make a huge difference in voters. this is personal. we are talking about women's rights. we have been talking about going back 50 years but let's be honest. we are going back to colonial times. that is how far back the republican party really wants to take us. they want to take us back to where men wear the authoritative figure and women were barefoot and pregnant and i have two daughters and i am not going to let that happen. rex thank you very much. we will let you go. appreciate your time. >> thank you. >> in your comments on president clinton puzzle speech tonight --

clinton speech. in total, it was part of the 895 words. another statistic -- he averaged 16,000 tweets permanence, the highest of the night. elizabeth warren had 6,400 when she gave her address. the reaction by twitter -- we also have calculated a graphic comparing clinton's past speeches with this one tonight. it is available on our pays. here is what it looks like to read you can see that president clinton did eclipsed his very well known 1988 convention speech which was about 32 minutes and tonight, 48 minutes in total. said the economy is a major background but in the two

parties in this election, here is about a minute and a half up as the clinton from earlier tonight. >> i think his plan is way better than governor romney's plan. first, the ghani plan fails the first test of fiscal responsibility. -- the mitt romney plan fails the first test of fiscal responsibility. the numbers did not at that. what would you do if you have this problem but mark someone says we have a big debt problem, we have to reduce the debt. well, to reduce the debt, we are going to have another $5 trillion in tax cut. heavily weighted to upper income people so we make a hole bigger before we start to get out of it. when you say what a going to do about the $5 trillion? this table make it up by eliminating the did they say we will make it up by eliminating loopholes in the tax code. the ask which loopholes of how

much? -- then the u.s. which loopholes and how much. you know what they say? see me after the election. i am not making it up. that is their position. people ask me all the time how we got for sort + budget in a row. what new ideas did we bring to washington. i always bring a one word answer -- arithmetic. >> now to your calls. from north carolina, supporting president obama. >> thank you. i wanted to praise president clinton tonight because he lay everything out. he was perfect. i also want to speak from a disabled person. i am blind in president obama that care about people and their

situations. thank you for taking my call. >> isaac is up next, supporting the republicans. >> i have lost a lot of respect for bill clinton after hearing the speech because he claims that obama has created 4.1 million jobs went actually fact checking that, he has not created a single net job. so i just wanted to comment on that. >> next up, a comment from memphis. independent. you are on. >> i wanted thank c-span, first of all. i pretty much had been following this for a while. the speech was good. michelle obama's speech was good. markell rubio's speech -- marco rubio's speech last week was

good. going back and forth, trying to decide which way i will leave. i think it will come down to -- you can have a talking point and you can have these things you're going to do and say you are going to do all you want. it will come down to leadership. the bottom line for me as that barack obama had the control congress his first two years, he got nothing but his own way to do what he wanted to do. i am sorry. he rammed everything three. he did it in a matter of fact way and lost respect of his fellow constituents. the last two years with the republicans are getting a bad rep, beating not want to work with someone like that. >> levy dumping in -- let me jump in on that.

let's go back to the floor. >> you probably could get a greater distance -- and that it greater distance between guam of florida. we begin with the mayor of riviera speech, florida. your thoughts? >> with the speech president clinton and left side of michelle, we are going to vote for president obama. how can you lose with those kinds of speeches? it touched on every major issue. it laid the case out. >> was there one line from president clinton that he will remember from tonight? >> i remember all of his life. he was tremendous. he which is powerful tonight. >> we have 12 votes which recast in support of president obama. we. 20. it is important to say it took

us 25 hours from guam, to north carolina. we made the mission here. to be serious in our opportunity to have a guam story. what is your reaction to the speeches tonight? >> it was amazing. just amazing. electrifying. if the election were to be held tonight, the democrats would have one -- hands down very -- would have won hands down. the one line that resonates with me is is -- is they double down on trickle-down. very proud moment to be a democrat. >> thank you very much for being here with us. >> a 25 hour trip to this convected. we have about 20 more minutes for your reactions.

here is a tweet on the simpson speech -- let's go back to call. james is in south carolina supporting the president. move on tot's colorado. a republican. >> thank you so much for c-span. you are really reality tv in the best sense. i am calling -- i voted for president clinton even though i am a republican now and i think his speech was a little long. he got along with people and the work with people. that is why so much of this legislation got past.

i called many about sandra fluke. i thought she could pay for her own birth control pills. i do not think she appeared to be very poor. in 1961, i was married to a labor. we were very poor. and i could afford to buy my own birth control pills. there were more expensive than they are today. i think sandra fluke kan by her own birth control pills. people who can afford it should do it. i do not think anything is free. i am definitely for helping the poor people. we already do that. i do not think we need obamacare. thank you so much. >> thank you. next up, cherry hill, new jersey. independent. >> i think the president -- president clinton gave an exceptional speech. he wanted to believe that things are going to change, things that

we promised four years ago have not been changed. i certainly change my view tonight. i think i have to go republican. >> thank you for your call. another tweet, a supporter of president clinton's performance tonight. back to telephone calls. scranton, pennsylvania. a supporter of the president. c-span3 i love the way you have all the speakers. you do not have talking heads butting in. i thought clinton was families -- was fabulous. the republicans wish they had somebody like bill clinton and they have nobody like bill clinton.

i thought the convention both days, michelle obama was fabulous yesterday. today was even better. i cannot wait for tomorrow. i have one question -- for republicans. considering that mitt romney is sitting on a quarter of a billion dollars and a $20 million a year doing nothing and supposedly has not worked for bain in 11 years, why hasn't he started factories are companies or hired people instead of hiding his money overseas? how come he has used the wealth? just a question. as long as the wealthy are the job creators, how come i cannot see them creating any jobs? thank you very much. >> thank you for your call from scranton, pennsylvania. on twitter, --

if you are here with us watching, we have this place almost all to ourselves. we are told that the vice- president might come out and do a walk-through for his speech. we will watch that if he does. tomorrow night is his speech along with the president's except in speech, originally scared -- an originally scheduled for the bank of america stadium. cancel today because it rained. all the preparation of the party had done beforehand have to be reset. hopefully we will see a little bit of that before we finish up here. whitney, a republican, you are on 3 >> i want to encourage the voters to be fact checkers. it does not matter who they are voting for. >> mary beth, chicago, an

independent. >> i just want to let everyone know that i love the democratic convention. we also have to think about the real independence, the people that live independently. it is not all about families or the middle-class. it is about actual poor people. what are we going to do? what are we going to do for the feature of poor people and people who actually did not want to get married and atheists. do they have rights? they have a part in the system? >> thank you. next, norman, maine. in support of the president. >> i am curious about a bunch of things but i was happy that bill clinton got on. i voted for him, i voted for barack obama. i'm kind of concerned. i am disabled.

i do understand what he is trying to do. i am concerned about -- you get a little distraught with guns and all that. that is something that probably should be addressed. this to wonder why they are doing what they are doing because if you get a little upset, i shoot a gun myself. only for my own protection. but apparently they are going to different problems. other than that, i am concerned about my disability and what i am going to go through. i kind of step with barack obama because he does have a better planned. hillary, that is a plus.

definitely love that. >> thank you for your call. a comment from jim watching in seattle. republican. go ahead. >> as the are watching, here comes the vice president. he will not be speaking so we will watch. and listen to jim from seattle as we watch vice president biden. jim, go ahead, please. alright, jim, sorry, your volume is up on your tv. we are going to move on to pamela. iowa. independent. >> thank you for taking my call. butjoy clinton's speaking what does not seem to be mentioned is something i like to see obama commit to --

prosecuting the supply of mortgage criminals. and the like to see the equally criminal activity of wall street's acadia is knowing toxic packages, i believe it obama commits to making this prosecution, he would win by a landslide. >> thank you. looking at live pictures from inside the time warner cable arena in charlotte, north carolina, at this late hour or early hour on thursday morning as vice-president comes in to walk through his presentation here tomorrow night. about 16,000 seats inside this arena. it will be a very crowded place tomorrow night. next up, savannah, georgia perry >> -- georgia.

>> i am 23-years old and i am a democrat and it - and our president has done a great job so far but he is not through yet. you cannot clear up the country of what the left behind in four years. it will take more time to get it done. he said that when he was first running. i love how president clinton's speech about arithmetic -- that is true. the democrats convention has been on fire and the love it. president obama, keep up the good work. you got my vote. >> amy, a republican, salt lake city. next as we listen to comment from across the country. >> thank you for letting me say my piece.

i have supported obama. i did not vote for him but i supported him and hoped he would make a change for america. and he did not. and he has said for years ago if he could not make a change, he would not run again. and he is running again. i would hope that mitt romney could make a difference. and that is what i'm going to both for and what i am hoping for. >> thank you. here is a tweet -- next up is a comment from norris in memphis, tennessee, who supports the president. >> i would like to say that everybody is talking about what

obama could do and everything in four years. look what -- clinton straighten out the deficit in two terms. then bush comes in and mess up a in one and then they reelected him and put them back in there and he did worse than that. --y expect obama for weren't for one term of the green of the mess he did not do. i do not understand what is wrong with the people. give the man a chance. to me he has done a lot compared to what bush did. it took a shorter time to mess up and lager to straighten out. that is the only thing i have to say. >> next up, up from marlboro, maryland -- upper marlboro, maryland, rachel perry >> i am calling. i voted for obama and i was

really excited and enthusiastic about it. i am only 27. this is only my third election. after watching the rnc last week, i felt like i got a better chance to get to know mitt romney and paul ryan and their platform. but tonight really sealed the deal for me and reaffirmed the democratic ticket. i thought clinton had all the points -- hit all the points. and the answer those questions -- and and really answer those questions. it sealed the deal. i thought it was affected. -- affective.

>> a similar sentiment from a twitter person who writers -- wries -- tes -- mike, hartford, connecticut, republican. what did you think of the convention tonight? sounds like we lost him. melvyn up next, atlanta, supporting the president. >> i am supporting obama. i'm calling because people are sticking so much at him. dickstein -- it takes time. people are talking about he is not doing this or that. but they have to understand that he has to take a step-by- step. the cannot do things all a one time.

we have to understand that he is a humanlike we are. -- human like we are. >> next, denise, chicago, and dependent. >> i have verdict couple of callers tonight talking about -- heard a couple of callers tonight talking about romney's to take his money and start new jobs and uses of money. i have never heard anything more ridiculous. why don't people start being responsible for themselves? stay off welfare. the response will for themselves. as far as rahm emanuel, the to be ashamed of himself -- he

should be ashamed of himself. get home, cleaner streets. instead of being there wearing about what is going on. that is all i want to sit. thank you. >> denise will be the last voice for us on the second day of the democratic convention. let me tell you what is coming up tomorrow -- that have changed the opening time. it will not begin at 4:00 p.m. eastern. you will see gavel-to-gavel coverage of the final night of the speech. the headliners tomorrow will be senator john kerry of massachusetts. he will speak about foreign policy. then the vice president we just saw here in a walk-through. he will give his acceptance speech. then president barack obama will be the final speech to marmite,

accepting his party's -- tomorrow night. we will be here throughout the evening. afterwards, we will finish up with another round of open phones. you have an opportunity to voice your comment thank you for being with us tonight. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> welcome to politico living for the 2012 democratic national convention. we welcome our viewers on news channel 8, c-span, and of course on politico.com. a classic evening -- vintage bill clinton.

tons of passion. an ability to connect with the audience few other democrats possess. the clinton speech -- it is episodic christoph-indulgent, occasionally long winded -- everything you love about clinton. if you like politics, this had everything. the trauma that led to this moment, the tension between these two families won election ago, between these two men one year ago. the fact that he is on stage offering the clinton stamp of approval for barack obama is remarkable. the two of them appearing there together was very symbolic of what barack obama needs to do. he needs bill clinton. he needs people to believe he can return people to the bill clinton economy. i want to hear from you. i have a critique from this speech. >> vintage bill clinton, right down to the length of the speech. for anybody who had questions about how strongly he would support obama -- he answered them in the second heat came out.

the first line said, we are here to nominate a president, and i have one in mind. he went on to take on at the republican attacks had on, defending them and taking them to the idea that we are better off than we were four years ago, and especially on welfare, where we see republicans so hard to but daylight between president obama and bill clinton. >> 48 minutes -- a tour day force. he was funny, mischievous, biting. at one point, he said, did i make myself clear? he sure did. point by point, there were all these attacks on republicans, again and again referred to as they, the evil day, handing over the crowd. people were revved up -- the ultimate elevator up barack obama. -- validator of barack obama.

>> the whole 40 minutes was worth it for the last visual. those guys, started dancing on stage. we know why barack obama showed up on the hall, for that one visual. he was unequivocal, forceful, funny. he did a perfect combination of politics and policy. i have to tell you. it was the best explanation of health care i have heard in two years. he did what the administration has not done. 1, 2, 3, 4. he went through everything. >> he would be my critique. there is a big disconnect from what bill clinton is talking about in the speech and what you hear from other speakers at the democratic convention. you do not hear any talk about social issues, no talk of abortion, no talk of gay marriage. no big business bashing. even the bain bashing is done with a smile and nod towards bipartisanship.

but he is talking about a democratic party that i do not know really exists today. bill clinton talks about a compromise, centrists and, a party of conciliation -- i do not think anybody is being conciliatory on either side for the last two years. >> he even had a shot out to -- shout out to president george w. bush for his emergency plans. >> he was trying to say, remember back then, we were all fighting. but we got things done. in all my years, i do not remember the other side hastings someone as much as they hate barack obama. >> trying very hard to position barack obama -- continuing that clinton legacy. reaching out to the other side. he once bipartisanship. >> we all fall, but we got things done. >> there he goes again. >> exactly. the tampa line at what was

priceless. he said, this was a simple message -- we left you a mess and you have not cleaned it up fast enough, so now we want to fire you. >> he always had this gift. we -- for a guy who has had issues in the past, as spirited of the speech as we have seen. you underestimate how much he loves this moment. he has such a rich appreciation for the history of politics, the history of the presidency. to know how badly barack obama needs him -- boy, does he love that. he loves the fact sheet -- a fact he is finally needed. >> for 48 minutes. >> it feels like a speech that would have been more effective at 30 minutes. it goes on and on, and yet it did have the crowd -- >> there were some moments. fiver six minutes where i thought he sort of could take it back. when he said, i know your op --

are all having such a good time, but listen up. >> an amazing physical performance. leading into this two years ago, he had heart surgery. it took a lot out of him. he is notably weaker, but here, these are the good old days, totally on it. >> it was interesting. i was watching it on my computer. a few times the computer stopped and started. when it did that, you could see the facial expressions -- he was so animated. every facial expression every second was different. he got a plug in for hillary, said my wife has done a great job, i am so proud of her. there was question of whether or not she would do that. let's look at 2016 -- a plug for michelle, for biden. he covered all the bases. >> patience paid off for barack obama. we heard the great stories about meetings in the white house

where barack obama would complain he does have to sit there and clinton would talk and talk with all his political advice. but in doing so he made clinton feel that he does need me. now the democratic party, a party united in cost. it is so interesting, the atmosphere of politics, to see this audience. even in speeches with elizabeth warren, where time after time you have these standing ovations, which you just did not see at the republican national convention. it adds to the feeling there is more excitement in the room. we do not know what that means -- if there is more excitement with voters at large, if your ship will be bigger, but if you watch it on tv it seems like a different move. >> -- new. >> the images of a warm clinton standing there, the two men together at the end. that is what we will see in newspapers tomorrow and on our side. that'll be the enduring image from tonight. >> let's go to one of our many

reporters covering the democratic convention. he is in the arena and has his own take. give us your take from inside the room. >> this crowd really connected. even though this was bill clinton's longest speech, longer even than his 1998 convention speech, the crowd hung onto his every word. what i thought was that this was something absolutely needed. some of the speeches were pretty flat and did not enlighten the cloud -- crowd the way they had yet -- yesterday. clinton came in and really got the crowd to life. he articulated a vision for the democratic party that no speaker really has. they took on some of the gaffes the campaign has made. also, whether the country is

better off now than four years ago. he repeated that over and over again, and the crowd screamed, yes, we are. it was clear that the crowd really hung on his words. he was able to connect with them like few other politicians. >> we appreciate your take on things. it is interesting, the construct of the speech. he sat down with a pad of paper and said, i want to take on every single argument that has been made by republicans about barack obama and offer the most full-throated defense i can. he went through it very methodically. government, jobs, medicare, medicaid, health care, constant conflict, a freeze he's twice job ofaddid a much better defending the president and the president has done in defending himself, particularly on medicare and welfare, to issue as we know from focus groups and polling are pretty effective for

republicans. >> on welfare -- this is personal. you could tell she was -- a lot of his speech was written in his head. this was what he wishes the president had been saying. he said hey, this is how it is done. >> he did not do it in a nasty way. he did it in a way where his face was lighting up. he was making all his points. they were very clear. he got into the weeds, and yet you could understand what he was saying. the health-care argument was particularly interesting grid president obama has been so often attacked from doing health care instead of jobs. the administration has tried to argue that the two things are related. president clinton was really able to place health care in the larger context of the question, are you better off? >> for the first time, we heard in a convention a real step-by-

step explanation of why this is good for you. it is good for the seniors. it is good for the students, young adults. it is good for the women who need preventive care. the white house has not been good in canada and why this is a good idea. >> for aspiring politicians, to -- two speeches i would suggest they read and watch -- paul ryan's and bill clinton's. they are much sharper speeches then they come off when they are actually performed. that is because of the style, the way you hold yourself, smile, do not come off with a hard edge. that is one reason why the speech would be very effective. i thought he did a great job of twice talking about job creation. over the last 52 years, we had 28 years of republican " route -- role, 24 of democrat, and yet we had more under -- more jobs

created under democrats. it is an argument democrats have not been making effectively. collectivism vs individualism as opposed to trying to blend the two, which has always been the sweet spot for bill clinton. >> the other thing he did, romney has been comparing the economy, the clinton economy and the obama economy, saying he is no bill clinton. bill clinton said, no president, not me, no one, could have prepared what they left him. >> let's go to one of the keepers here. >> in tampa, the republican argument against the president's reelection is actually pretty simple. pretty snappy. it went something like this. we left them a total mess. he has not cleaned it up fast enough, so fire him and put it back in -- us back in.

[applause] >> what is memorable about that line is it is so easy to repeat. one of your presence will -- your friends will make when they try to make the argument. he had really good timing, especially at the beginning. fantastic timing. playing off the crowd. tell us what you thought -- you have been able to watch both of these conventions on fold. the highs and lows of both. where does this speech did in? >> of the speeches i have seen, it was one of the stronger speeches i have seen, not just because the former president, a very well-known speaker to this audience -- he hit on a lot of themes that barack obama has not punched that forcefully. he did it in a way that is still in during, but he has been able to come at people in a very good

way. this speech is a big win for democrats. >> if he did a better job of articulating the case against republicans, against ms. romney, and we know he is constantly giving advice to president obama, how come president obama has not taken the language and made it his own? >> they have a different kind of a fire. they do not have the same kind. that would be my explanation. if i were a barack obama, i would put this guy on the road right away. >> this is -- people told us this would be a 30-minute speech. we will see this commercial and he has made a lot. >> the other thing that got a big laugh, i want a president who is cool on the outside that burns on the inside. invoking that coolness of barack

obama. he brought up everything. >> republicans have said, you do not want a celebrity president, you wanted person who fixes the economy. a very hard-line to touch. you have bill clinton on the trail, there is a risk of wishful thinking, quite frankly. >> they talked about the alternate universe of republicans versus the real world of jobs being created. >> it took a fairly large section to talk about how extreme he sees the republicans the coming over the last couple of years, going so far as to point out how several senators and force members were knocked off by their own party because they had dared to try to cooperate with obama, which is true. it has been a problem for the republican establishment. they have these candidates in indiana, in delaware, you took a moderate and and that putting in a conservative who had a chance.

it is a problem. that is one of the things democrats have tried to do, convince people that there is gridlock and dysfunction, but republicans are more to blame than us. bill clinton might be more effective for delivering that message then a lot of democrats that have engaged in that. >> as he was saying, he also worked with newt gingrich. they together, for all the clashing, got welfare reform done. we know that the vast right-wing conspiracy hillary talked about was a little bit there. there were conservatives who wanted to bring him down. and yet he still got bipartisan things done. >> we romanticize and irra that -- it was a pretty nasty time. republicans shut down the federal government over a dispute. bill clinton and hillary clinton were absolutely convinced and telling everyone friend they had the other truly was a vast right-wing conspiracy aimed at destroying them.

andet's not talk of peace conciliatory gestures and bipartisanship. >> the obama campaign will benefit from this -- people who are swing voters will look at this out of simple curiosity. every body will flash back to what their member of president clinton, look at this, and say hey, these people speak my language be to those were big -- good economic times. they will say, what was he saying? peace and prosperity and a balanced budget. he says, give the guy in of a chance. nobody could have fixed this. >> even i. >> even i, the great bill clinton. you mentioned this idea, we are all in this together. this was helping obama to walk that back a little bit and -- >> eisenhower built the interstate system. >> the one nod to his wife --

>> president obama -- he appointed several members of his cabinet even though they supported hillary in the primary. [applause] heck, he even appointed hillary. [applause] >> we will not waste a lot of time on the topic, but there is no doubt that a lot of talk allstate is what the clintons want to do. will clinton run in 2016? she has not made a signal, but people think it probably will happen. >> she may not have decided, but her husband has. she is 66 years old -- she very much wants to stay engaged in politics. there is no doubt she needs and wants to break, engaged in a nasty campaign last time around.

has been not -- secretary of state when the world has been on fire. >> she is still -- think about her speech about the cracks in the glass ceiling. she is still very iconic. they think about what is next for her. >> there is a very specific plan -- she will write a book, start a foundation, give speeches. rest and test the waters for interest later. >> if i had a political brain and could pull it off the shelf -- you study this stuff. what is your take on the speech, particularly where it kicks in to what democrats are starting to accomplish in going after that & that authentically are undecided in this election? >> it was good as counter programming to the way the rest of the convention has gone,

particularly in light of the sandra fluke speech. we are in north carolina. it was held here for a reason. the latest polling in north carolina is 48-48. this is the deadest heat going, yet we are not getting a dead heat convention. it is important to get a different town, somebody who can speak to the middle, who can speak to southerners, and especially. this is a southern state. broad and that message. in that respect, clinton was very successful. >> when you see barack obama tomorrow night, will he lean more towards the bill clinton speech or more towards the elizabeth warren speech? they are not compatible. these are two different parts of the parties. you have to, looking at the numbers, what is happening in the house, what is happening to the democratic party, it is the

clinton wind that is not growing. it is the liberal wing that is growing. it is dominant in this convention. we side in the big debate over whether to have the word got and jerusalem in a platform that is meaningless, that has nothing to do with how he would govern, how president obama will campaign. it became a big mess because it took the two words out and president obama had to inject himself into the debate to be answered both. >> to coin a phrase, i will bet you can thousand dollars that we see the clinton approach by president obama. the first two days have been to tee him up to talk to the 6%. they got all the people who traveled here. president obama has been talking to the country he needs, not the people he has. >> paul ryan -- let's take a look at that poke clinton took at ryan. this debate about medicare and

ryan. >> look into that tv camera, attack president obama's medicare savings as "the biggest, coldest power play." i did not know whether to laugh or cry. [laughter] [applause] that $760 billion is exactly, to the dollar, the same amount of medicare savings that you have in -- he has in his own budget. [applause] you ought -- yet remit one thing, it takes some brass to attack a guy for doing what you did. [applause] >> it takes some brass --

>> talking nascar. >> paul ryan would say what? >> this is something paul ryan has been hit on multiple times. from democrats and fact checkers, since he gave his speech at the republican convention, his command of the facts has been challenged. this point about $116 billion. he says his words are misconstrued, the obama campaign is playing with that. that is the argument he is using. that goes back to the point bill clinton just made. >> if you had paul ryan on a truth serum -- one of the great attributes about paul ryan is he got in with real details that dealt with real facts. there are certain things you have to do as an attack dog. you have to defend the guy, have to defend romney.

his position happens to be different than ryan on this one. >> ryan would appreciate the speech -- he does not get enough credit for what he does as a retail politician. stylistically, he is not even in the same universe as though clinton, but he has serious game. this is the guy who won regularly by big margins in extremely competitive districts. he is a guy who understands what works. somebody who ran as a conservative in a very moderate district. he understands the same thing and has some of the same political traits he does. >> do we think that this stuff matters? we love anybody watching on c- span who pays attention to this, but look at the ratings for both conventions, they were down. even yesterday, which got a lot of coverage. the same number of people who watched on day one as the republican convention. in both cases, ratings down 30%. do we think those undecided

voters are watching this, being persuaded by? >> i think they are watching, but i think we have a skewed view in the media because we are not only in a media bubble, but we are addicted to social media, the facebook reaction, the twitter reaction. we have -- this is part of a portrait that voters are painting in their own mind about what kind of candidates these are, where they stand on the issues. >> people take the measure of bill clinton -- that is why having him as the elevator for barack obama -- validator 4 barack obama. barack obama does not speak nascar. so he is translating that for him. >> i do not think the people who have fond memories of the clinton -- perhaps for a group, perhaps it does, but people tuning in, i am not sure your

average voter in small-town america actually cares what is being said in what is being broadcast on live tv. >> if you think about the obama campaign strategy, it is not aimed at the middle. the bulk of the spending is all designed at figuring out how do we get the base, people who we know we can turn away from it romney. the very heavily focused on a younger voters, latino voters. you see a lot of that. yesterday, you could tell a lot about a party, a candidate, the direction they might go, just by looking at the line of the people who are speaking. talk about that -- what you see from the faces you see in prime time. they want to communicate what? >> we have a swing state convention by the town, the themes, everything swing -- screens that. you see that in speakers. see that in the limneup.

>> hispanic officials -- a dozen. >> all of it. i think they have rejected clintonism in many ways, because it is useless in this election to read the need to squeeze out every last vote for they can. i'm sure they're sitting there with a sheet or a power point or whatever. they know what they need to hit. the need to hit this with african-americans, this with latinos, the white percentage has to be this -- it does not have to be 41, but has to be 40. that is all that matters. everything screams close election. >> think about coverage tomorrow -- moments to end up taking away. what you think the coverage looks like tomorrow? what is the take away going to be? will it be the image of the two days at the end? bill clinton making the forceful defense for barack obama? >> a couple of things. the coll on the outside, burns

for america on the inside. >> do you think it has been a good measure that the first two days are successful as a convention, based on what they are trying to accomplish? or is it too soon to even make those determinations? >> it is too soon. the first day was one of the successful. the second day, think of the story lines -- clinton had a pretty good speech. but he did go really long. everyone will talk about how the president of the united states is sitting there for a long time. you have the stadium flap, then the jerusalem flat. the momentum they have got out of yesterday -- will have to see what happens tomorrow. >> the storage and tomorrow that i see is not what happened in the time warner irina. is this other stuff, what the president's speech will be, all of those things. the only speech we are talking about, anybody is talking about,

is bill clinton's. there was a long roster of other people -- i do not think anybody else will talk about them. >> what is fascinating is that neither campaign thinks there'll be much of the bomb or movement in the polls from the two conventions. they think they will come out of it tied. it will be tied, probably, until we get to the debate. we all agree -- agree the debates will be in the corporate moment. there is still at 6%-10% who are not satisfied with what they got of the last four years but are not yet sold at mitt romney is a possibly safer bet to do a good job and the economy. >> one thing that will last -- president obama basking in the glow of bill clinton. that will last. >> there is no doubt. that is what is set out to accomplish. >> we should go to political but, look in your stories about the abortion debate -- are there issues talking about in north

carolina that are important for swing voters, especially since the north carolina? thank you very much for joining us. at the c-span 2012 website, you can watch videos from the republican and democratic conventions, and find out what viewers are saying about the race on social media like facebook and twitter. here are a few of the videos treated by dnc convention goers. >> i am from the congressional district of ohio. the biggest issue is the economy. we have 29 months of a positive direction. >> i am from the great state of

ohio. i am supporting barack obama because he is the right man for the job. i want to support him until he gets the job done. >> i.n.d. net turner, of the great state of ohio. i am a delegate because i want to help president barack obama make history again. >> i may delegate from ohio. the convention has been an incredible experience. speeches have been inspirational. the choice could not be more clear -- president obama has shown what he has done for the american people. >> i am come columbus, ohio. one of the most important issues for me is education, making sure college is affordable and we have a good education system and a good economic system also. >> i am from tennessee. i'm supporting barack obama. i believe his view of the future is much better than that of mitt romney. >> why do i want to be a

delegate? this will be one of the most important elections in history. we need to let barack obama for a second term. >> tonight, the democrat officially named barack obama as their presidential candidate. the nominating speech was made by former president bill clinton. the former president argue for reelecting barack obama, saying he is cool on the outside, but burns for america on the inside. before that, but delegates heard from senate candidate elizabeth warren, running against incumbent scott brown in massachusetts. >> thank you. and thank you. i'm elizabeth warren. thank you.

this is my first democratic convention. [crowd chanting "warren!"] i never thought i would run for the senate, and i sure never dreamed that i would be the warm-up act for president bill clinton. [applause] he is an amazing man who has the good sense to marry one of the coolest women on this planet. [applause] i want to give a special shout out to the massachusetts delegation. [applause] i am counting on you to help me win and help president obama win. i am here tonight to talk about

hard working people. people who get up early, stay up late, cook dinner and help out with homework. people who can be counted on to help their kids, their parents, their neighbors, and the lady down the street who's car broke down. people who work their hearts out that are up against a hard truth. the game is rigged against them. it was not always this way. like a lot of you, i grew up in a family on the ragged edge of the middle-class. my daddy sold carpeting and ended up as a maintenance man. after he had a heart attack, my mom worked at sears so we could hang on to our house. my brothers served in the military. one was career, the second, a good union shop in construction. the third started a small business. me? i was waiting tables at 13 and

married at 19. i graduated from public schools and taught elementary school. i have a wonderful husband, too great children, three b four grandchildren. -- three beautiful grandchildren. i am grateful down to my toes for every opportunity america gave me. this is a great country. [applause] i grew up in n. america that invested in its kitts and built a strong middle-class -- kids and build a strong middle- class, that allowed millions of children to rise from poverty and establish good lives. and america that created social security and medicare so that seniors could live with dignity. and america in which each generation build something solid so that the next generation could build something better. [applause]

but now, for many years, our middle-class has been shipped, squeezed, and hammered. talk to the construction worker i met from massachusetts. he went nine months without finding work. talk to the head of manufacturing in franklin, trying to protect jobs but worried about rising costs. talk to the student in the worcester who worked hard to finish his degree and is now drowning in debt. their fight is my fight, and it is barack obama's fight, too. [applause] yes. people feel like this system is rigged against them. here is the painful part -- they are right. the system is rigged.

look around -- oil companies guzzled down billions in profits. billionaires' pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. wall street ceos, the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millionaire -- millions of jobs, still strut around with no shame, demanding favors and acting like we should thank them. does anybody here have a problem with that? [applause] well, i do, too. i talk to small business owners all across massachusetts. not one of them, not one, made big bucks from the risky bets that brought down our economy. i talked to nurses and programmers, salespeople and fire fighters, people who lost their tales every day.

not one of them, not one moustaches their money in the cayman islands to avoid paying their fair share -- stashes their money in the cayman islands to avoid paying their fair share. [applause] we are americans. we celebrate success. we just do not want the game to be rigged. we fought to level the playing field. about a century ago, when corrosive agreed to threaten our economy and our way of life, the american people came together under the leadership of teddy roosevelt and other progressives to bring our nation back from the brink. we started to take children out of factories and put them in schools. we began to give meaning to the words consumer protection by making food and medicine states.

we gave the little guy a better chance to compete by preventing the big as from a reading at the markets -- guys from rigging the markets. we turn adversity into progress, because that is what we do. [applause] americans are fighters. we are tough, resourceful, and creative. and if we had the chance to fight on a level playing field, where everyone pays a fair share and everyone has a real shot, then no one, no one can stop us. [applause] president obama gets it, because he spent his life fighting for the middle class. now he is fighting to level that playing field, because we know that the economy does not grow from the top down, but from the

middle class out and the bottom up. that is how we create jobs. and reduce the debt. [applause] and mitt romney -- he wants to give tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires, but for middle-class families hanging on by their fingernails, his plan will hammer them with a new tax hike of up to $2,000. [crowd boos] mitt romney wants to give billions in breaks to big corporations, but he and paul ryan would pulverize financial reform, voucherize medicare, and vaporize obamacare. the republican vision is clear. i have got mine, the rest of you

are on your own. republicans say they do not believe in government. sure they do. they believe in government to help themselves and their powerful friends. [applause] after all, mitt romney is the guy who said that corporations are people. no, governor romney, corporations are not people. people have hearts. they have kids. they get jobs. they get sick. they cry, they live, they love, and they die. and that matters. [applause] that matters. that matters, because we do not

run this corporate -- country for corporations. we run it for people. that is why we need barack obama. [applause] after the financial crisis, president obama new that we had to clean up wall street. for years, families had been tricked by credit cards, fooled by student loans, and cheated on mortgages. i had an idea for consumer financial protection agency to stop the rip-off. the big banks shore did not like it. they marshaled one of the biggest lobbying forces on earth to destroy the agency before it ever saw the light of day. american families did not have an army of lobbyists on our side. what we had was a president,

president obama leading the way. [applause] and when the lobbyists were closing in for the kill, barack obama squared his shoulders, planted his feet, and stood firm. that is how we won. [applause] by the way, just a few weeks ago that agency caught one of the biggest credit card companies cheating its customers and made it give people back every penny it took, plus millions of dollars in fines. that is what happens when you had a president underside -- on the side of the middle class. [applause] president obama believes in a level playing field. he believes in a country where nobody gets a free ride or a golden parachute. a country where anyone who has a

great idea and rolls up their sleeves has a chance to build a business, and anyone who works hard and builds -- can build security and raise a family. president obama believes in a country where billionaires' pay their taxes, just like their secretaries do. [applause] and i cannot believe, in 2012, a country where women get equal pay for equal work. [applause] he believes in a country where everyone is held accountable, where no one can steal your purse on a main street or your pension on wall street. [applause]

president obama believes in a country where we invest in education, in roads and bridges, in science, in the future, so we can create new opportunities so the next kids can make it big, and the kid after that and the kid after that. that is what president obama believes. [applause] that is how we build the economy of the future. an economy with more jobs and less debt. we reached it in fairness. we grow it with opportunity. we build it together. [applause] i grew up in the methodist church and taught sunday school. one of my favorite passages of scripture is, in as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye

have done it unto me. matthew 25:40. the passage teaches about god in each of us. we are bound to each other. we are called to act, not to sit, not to wait, but to act, all of us together. senator ted kennedy understood that col. [applause] four years ago, he addressed our convention for the last time. he said, we have never lost our belief that we are all called to a better country and a newer world. generation after generation, americans have answered that col. now we are called again. we are called to restore opportunities for every american. we are called to give america

pause working families a fighting chance. we are called to build something solid so that the next generation can build something better. let me ask you, let me ask you, america, are you ready to answer this call? [applause] are you ready to fight? are you ready to work for a level playing field? are you ready to prove to another generation of americans that we can build a better country and in your world? joe biden is ready. barack obama is ready. i am ready. you are ready. thank you. [applause]

>> president bill clinton. tomorrow ♪ [applause] >> thank you.

mr. mayor, fellow democrats, we are here to nominate a president, and i have got one in mind. i want to nominate a man whose own life has known its fair share of adversity and uncertainty. i want to nominate a man who ran for president in an already weak economy and just six weeks before an election, one of the biggest recession, a man who stopped the recession and put us on the long road to recovery, knowing all the while

no matter how many jobs he saved or created, there would be millions more weighted, worried about our own kids, trying to keep their hopes alive. i want a man who burns for america on the inside. [applause] i want a man who believes with no doubt we can build a new american economy driven by innovation and creativity, education, and by cooperation, and after last night, i want a man who had the good sense to marry michelle obama. [applause]

i want barack obama to be the next president of the united states, and i proudly nominate him to be the standard bearer of the democratic party. in tampa a few days ago we heard a lot of talk about how the president and the democrats do not believe in free enterprise and individual initiative, how we want everyone to be dependent now on the government, how bad we are on the economy.

this alternative universe says that everyone of us in this room who amounts to anything, we are all completely self made. one of the greatest democrats, bob strauss says every american wants you to believe he was born in a log cabin he built himself, but he admitted it ain't so. we democrats think the country works better with real opportunities. with business and government working together to promote growth and proudly share prosperity. we believe we are all in this

together is a far better philosophy than we are on our own. [applause] who is right? since 1961 the republicans have held the white house 28 years, the democrats' 24. in those years, our private economy has built 66 million private-sector jobs, so what is the jobs for? republicans 24 million, democrats 42. [applause]

there is a reason for this. it turns out advancing opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics, because of poverty and ignorance restrict growth. when you do not invest in new ideas, it does not just cut off the people affected, it hurts us all. we know investments in infrastructure and research increase growth. they increase -- they create more wealth for all the rest of us. there is something i have

noticed lately. you probably have, too. maybe it is because i grew up in a different time, but though i disagree with republicans, i do not hate them the way they seem to hate us. [applause] that would be impossible for me, because president eisenhower sent federal troops to my home state to help little rock high school. i worked on the first round of welfare reform and with president george h. w. bush on national education goals.

i am actually very grateful. i have to be grateful that president george w. bush saved the lives of millions of people in poor countries, and i have been honored to work with both presidents bush on the aftermath of the tsunami, hurricane katrina, the horrible earthquake in haiti. through my foundation, i am working all the time with democrats, republicans, and independents. sometimes i cannot tell you who i am working with because we focus on seizing opportunities and not fighting all the time. [applause] here is what i want to say to you, and here is what i want the people at home to think

about. when times are tough and people are frustrated and angry and uncertain, the politics of constant conflict may be good, but what is good politics does not necessarily work in the real world. what works in the real world is cooperation. what works in the real world is cooperation. business and government, foundations and universities. asked the mayors who are here. los angeles is getting green and chicago is getting an infrastructure because republicans are working together to do it. their purpose was to get something done. why is this true? why does cooperation work better? nobody is right all the time,

and a broken clock is right twice a day. everyone of us and everyone of them who is compelled to spend leading lives between those extremes, knowing we are never going to be right all the time and hopefully we are right more than twice a day. unfortunately, the fraction that dominates the republican party does not see it that way. they think government is always right and compromise is weakness. the country, even national security. they beat a republican congressman with almost 100 percent voting record because they said he realizes he did not have to hate the president to disagree with him.

that was a nonstarter. they threw him out. one of the main reasons we ought to re-elect president obama is because he is still committed to constructive cooperation. look at his record. he appointed republican secretary of defense, the army, and transportation. he appointed a vice president who ran against him in 2008, and he trusted the vice- president to oversee the end of the war in iraq and the implementation of the recovery act. joe biden did a great job with those. [applause]

now, president obama ap pointed several members of his cabinet even though they supported hillary and the primary. heck, he even appointed hillary. now, wait a minute. i am very proud of her. i am problem of the job she and the national security team have done for america. i am grateful that they have

worked together to make us safer and stronger, to build a world with more partners than enemies. i am grateful for the relationship and partnership she and the president have enjoyed. and the signal that sense to the rest of the world that democracy does not have to be a blood sport. it can be an honorable enterprise that advances the public interest. now, besides the national security team, i am very grateful to the men and women who serve our country in uniform through these perilous times. and i am especially grateful to michelle obama and jill biden for supporting those military families while the labeouf ones

are overseas -- their loved ones are overseas. and for supporting our veterans when they come home bearing the wounds of war, or needing help to find education or jobs or housing. president obama's whole record on national security is a tribute to his strength of his judgment and his preference for inclusion and partnership over partisanship. we need more of it in washington d.c. now, we all know that he also tried to work with congressional republicans on health care, debt reduction, and new jobs. and that did not work out so well. but it could have been because, as the senate republican leader said, in a remarkable moment of candor, two full years before

the election, their number 1 priority was not to put america back to work. it was to put the president out of work. wait a minute. >> [crowd boos] >> senator, i hate to break it to you, but we are going to keep president obama. now, are you ready for this? wait a minute. >> four more years! four more years! >> in tampa, did you watch their convention? i did. in teampa, the republican

argument against the president's reelection was actually pretty simple, pretty snappy. it went something like this. we left him a total mess. he has not cleaned it up fast enough. so put us back in. but they did it well. they looked good, they sounded good. they convinced me that they all love their families and their children and we are grateful they have been born in america. really. they did. and this is important. they convince me they were honorable people who believe what they said and they will creep ever commitment they have made. which is got to make sure the american people know what those commitments are.

because in order to look like an acceptable, a moderate alternative to president obama, they just did not say very much about the ideas they have offered over the last two years. they could not. because they want to go back to the same old policies that got us in trouble in the first place. they want to cut taxes for high- income americans more than president bush. they want to get rid of those financial regulations designed to prevent another crash and prohibit future bailouts. they want to increase defense spending over a decade $2 trillion more than the pentagon has requested, without saying what they will spend it on. and they want to make enormous cuts in the rest of the budget, especially programs that help the middle class and poor children. as another president once said, there they g"there they go agai" [applause]

now, i like -- i like the argument for president obama's re-election a lot bader. here it is. he inherited a deeply damaged economy. he put a floor on to the crash. he began long, hard road to recovery and laid the foundation for all modern economy that will produce millions of good jobs, a vibrant new businesses and lots of new wealth for innovators. now, are we where we want to be today? no. is the president satisfied? of course not. but are we better off than we were when he took office? listen to this.

when president barack obama took office, the economy was in free fall. it had shrunk ninefold% of gdp. we were losing 750,000 jobs a month. are we doing better than that today? the answer is yes. now, look, here is the challenge he faces and the challenge all of you who support him face. i get it. i know it. i have been there. a lot of americans are still angry and frustrated about this economy. if you look at the numbers, you know on employment is growing, banks -- employment is growing. banks are beginning to lend again. housing prices are beginning to pick up, but too many people do not feel it yet.

i had this same thing happened in 1994, early 1995. we could say the policies were working, that the economy was growing, but most people did not feel it yet. thankfully, by 1996, the economy was roaring, everybody felt that, and we were halfway through the longest peacetime expansion in the history of the united states. but wait, wait. the difference this time is pruelurely in the circumstances. president obama's started with a much weaker economy than i did. listen to me. no president, no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, and no one could have a fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years.

now, but he has laid the foundations for our new, modern, successful economy of shared prosperity. and if you will renew the present contract, you will feel it. it.will feel folks, whether the american people believe what i said maybe the election. i want you to know i believe it. with all my heart, i believe it. now, why do i believe it? i'm fixing to tell you why.

i believe it is because president obama's approach embodies the ideas and direction america has to take to build a 21st century version of the american dream, a nation of shared opportunity, shared responsibility, shared prosperity, a shared sense of community. so let's get back to the story. in 2010, as the president's recovery program kicked in, the job losses stopped and things began to turn around. the recovery act saved or created millions of jobs, cut taxes -- let me say this again. cut taxes for 95% of the american people. and in the last 29 months, our economy has produced about 4.5 million private-sector jobs. we could have done better, but last year the republicans blocked the president a jobs

plan, costing the economy more than 1 million new jobs. so, here is another job score. president obama plus 4.5 million. congressional republicans -- zero. during this period, more than 500,000 manufacturing jobs have been created. that is the first time manufacturing jobs have increased since the 1990's. and i will tell you something else. the auto industry restructuring worked. it saved more than 1 million jobs and not just at gm, chrysler and their dealerships, but in all parts manufacturing. that is why even the automakers were not part of the deal supported it. they needed to save those parts

suppliers, too. like i said, we are all in this together. so what's happened? there are no 250,000 more people working in the auto industry than on the day the companies were restructured. so now we all know that governor romney opposed the plan to save gm and chrysler. so here is another jog to score. -- jobs score. are you listening in michigan and ohio and across the country? here is another jobs score. obama -- 250,000. romney -- zero.

now, the agreement the administration made with management, labor, and environmental groups to double car mileage is a good deal. it will cut your gas prices in half, your guest bill. no matter what the prices, if you double the mileage of your car your bill will be half. it will make us more energy- independent, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and according to several analyses over the next 20 years, it will bring as another half a million good, new jobs into the american economy. energy strategy, which he calls all of the above, is helping. the boom in oil and gas production, combined with greater energy efficiency, has driven on oil imports to a 20- year low in natural gas -- and natural gas production to an all-time high. and renewable energy production has doubled. of course, we need a lot more

new jobs but there are already more than 3 million jobs open and unfilled in america, mostly because of the people who apply for them do not yet have the required skills to do them. so, even as we get americans more jobs, we have to prepare more americans for the new jobs that are going to be created. the old economy is not coming back. we have got to build a new one and educate people to do those jobs. the president in his education secretary supported community colleges and employers in working together to train people for jobs that are actually open in their communities. and even more important, after a decade in which exploding

college costs have increased the dropout rate so much that the percentage of our young people with four-year college degrees has gone down that we have dropped to 16th in the world and the percentage of young people with college degrees. so, the president of student loan reform is more important than ever. here is what it does. you need to tell every voter where you live about this. well as the cost of federal student loans and it gives students the right to repay those loans as a clear, fixed, low percentage of their income for up to 20 years. now, what does this mean? think of it. it means no one will ever have to drop of college again for fear they cannot repay their debt.

and it means that if someone wants to take a job with a modest income, a teacher, a police officer -- if they want to be of small-town doctor in a rural rea, they will not have to turn those jobs down because they do not pay enough. their debt obligation will be determined by their salary. this will change the future for young americans. i do not know about you, but on all these issues i know we are better off because president obama made the decisions he did. now, that brings me to health care. now the republicans call it derisively obama-care.

they say it is a government takeover, a disaster, and that if we elect them, they will repeal it. are they right? >> no! >> let's take a look at what has actually happened so far. first, individuals and businesses have already gotten more than $1 billion in refunds from insurance companies because the law requires a 80% of your premium to go to health care, not profits or promotions. and the -- a bunch of insurance companies have applied to lower their rates to comply with requirements. second, more than 3 million young people between 19-25 are insured for the first time because their parents' policy can cover them. third, millions of seniors are

receiving preventive care, all the way from breast cancer screenings to test for heart problems and scores of other things, and younger people are getting them, too. fourth, the insurance companies will have millions of new customers, many of the middle class people with pre-existing conditions who never could get insurance before. now, finally, listen to this. for the last two years, after going up at three times the rate of inflation for a decade, for the last two years, health care costs have been under 4% in both years for the first time in 50 years. so, let me ask you something.

are we better off because president obama fought for health care reform? you bet we are. now, there were two and other attacks on the president in camp but i think deserve an answer. first, both governor romney and congressman ryan attacked the president for robbing medicare. of $716 million. it is not true. look, here's what will happen. there were no cuts to benefits at all, nonoe. what the. e. what the president did was to save money by taking the recommendations of a commission of professionals to cut unwarrented subsidies to

providers and insurance companies that were not making people healthier, and were not necessary to get the providers to provide the service. and instead of raiding medicare, he used the savings to close the donuts hole of the medicare drug program. [applause] eight years to the life of the medicare trust fund so it is solvent until 2024. so, president obama and the democrats did not need in medicare. they strengthen the medicare -- did not weaken medicare. when congressman ryan looked into that tv camera and attacked

president obama's medicare savings as "the biggest, coldest powerplay," i doubt whether to laugh or cry -- i did not know whether to laugh or cry, because that $716 million is exactly to the dollar the same amount of medicare savings that he had in his own budget. you got to get one thing. it takes some brass to attack the guy for doing what you did.

now, you are having a good time but this is getting serious. i want you to listen. it is important here because a lot of people believe this stuff. at least on this issue, on this one issue, governor romneyha has been consistent. he attacked president obama, too, but he actually wants to repeal those savings and give the money back to the insurance companies. he wants to go back to the old system, which means we reopen the donuts hole, and we will reduce the life of the medicare trust fund by eight full years. so if he is elected and does what it promised to do, medicare will not go broke in 2016. think about that.

that means, after all, we will not have to wait until there bowsher program kicks in in 2023 -- their voucher program kicks in in 2003 to see the end of medicare as we know it. they will do it sooner than we thought. folks, this is serious, because it gets worse. and he will not be laughing when i finish telling you this. they also want to block grant medicaid and cut it by 1/3 over the coming 10 years. of course, that is going to hurt a lot of poor kids, but that is not all. a lot of folks do not know what but 2/3 of medicaid is spent on nursing-home care for medicare seniors who are eligible for medicaid. as weoing to end medicare know it.

and a lot of that money is also spent to help people with disabilities, including all lot of middle-class families whose kids have down syndrome or autism or other severe conditions. and honestly, just think about it. if that happens, i do not know what those families are going to do. so i know what i am going to do. i am going to do everything i can to see that it does not have been. we cannot let it happen. we can't. now, wait a minute. let's look at the other big

charge the republicans made. it is a real doozy. [laughter] they actually have charged and run ads saying that president obama wants to weaken the work requirements in the well for reform bill i signed and move people from welfare to work. wait. you need to know, here is what happened. nobody ever tells you what really happened. here is what happened. when some republican governors asked if they could have waivers to try new ways to put people on welfare back to work, the obama administration listened, because we all know it is hard for even people with good histories to get jobs today. so moving folks from welfare to work is a real challenge. and the administration agreed to

give waivers to those governors and others only if they had a credible plan to increase employment by 20%, and they could keep the waivers only if they did increase employment. did i make myself clear? the requirement was for more work, not less. so, this is personal to me. we moved millions of people off welfare. it was one of the reasons that in the eight years i was present we had 100 times people moved out of poverty that in the previous 12 years. it is a big deal. but i am telling you the claim that president obama weekend welfare reform's work requirement is just not true. but they keep on running ads claiming it. you want to know why?

their campaign posters said, "we are not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers." now, finally i can say, that is true. [laughter] bettern't have said it myself. and i hope you and every american within the sound of my voice remembers that every time they see one of those ads and it turns into an ad to reelect barack obama and keep the fundamental principles of personal empowerment and moving everybody can get a job in to work as soon as we can. now, let's talk about the depth.

today, interest rates are low. people are practically paying us to borrow money, hold their money for them. but it will become a big problem when the economy grows and interest rates start to rise. we have got to deal with this big, long-term debt problem or it will deal with us. it will gobble up a bigger percentage of the federal budget we would rather spend on education and health care and science and technology. we got to do with it. now, what has the president done? he has offered a reasonable plan of $4 trillion in debt reduction over a decade with $2.50 trillion coming from -- for every $2.50 trillion in spending cuts, he raises $1 in revenue. he has tight controls on future spending. that is the kind of balanced approach proposed by the simpson-bowles commission.

i think this plan is way better than romney's plan. the romney plan fails the first test of fiscal responsibility. the numbers just do not at all -- do not add up. consider this, what would you do if you had this problem? we have to reduce the debt. what is the first thing you do? to reduce the debt, we are going to have another $5 trillion in tax cut. heavily weighted to upper income people. so we will make the debt hole bigger before we start to get out of it. now, when you say, what are you going to do about this $5 trillion you add it on? they say, we will make it up by eliminating loopholes in the tax code. so then you ask, well, what the polls and how much? you know what they say? see me about that after the

election. i am not making it up. that is their position. now, people ask me all the time, how we got four surplus budgets in a row? what new ideas did we bring to washington? i always give all one word answer -- arithmetic. . .

.

>> do you think there is any effect of saying wisconsin, you always talk about presidential coattails, do you think there is potential for the republican incumbent, they get a little boost or maybe in the john tierney seat. do you see any connection there? >> specifically in the john tierney district, massachusetts is a genetically republican -- a democratic state. that will show up. it is being tweeted right

now. the closeness of that race is because of scott brown. as guy has been saying, the voters in massachusetts will come home. i think the dna of that state is going to bring those voters back to where they need to be. in wisconsin, the nrcc and sean duffy are playing heavily in that district. are independent expenditures up there as well. we have not seen any coattails. >> anybody else? >> chicago. former senator. question for both of you. illinois has got 20% of the seat that could switch to the house. you have five that could definitely go the democratic

way. i want to know what your numbers are. the ones i've seen we're winning the numbers. i like you to talk a little bit about rich and his race in arizona where that stands. >> arizona is one of the four states we feel like we can pick up the democratic seat. one of the two that is a non-traditional state for democrats is due in large part to the power of rich and of his story. for those did not know, rich was raised in new york. he spent most of his childhood either homeless or in subsidized housing. he dropped out of high school. he eventually joined the military where he won two purplehearts and a silver star. he came back and got into college.

he went from being homeless to graduating first in his class in med school. opening the first trauma center in arizona and becoming a deputy sheriff. and then was appointed to be surgeon general by george bush. he's now running as a democrat. his story i believe transcends politics. it is a very sharp contrast with jeff was been in politics for a very long time. it before he was in politics he was a lobbyist for a mining

company that is supported by the government of iran. he committed to a three term limits as member of the house. when he was running for his fourth term, when asked why, he looked at the camera and said "i guess i lied." i think this puts us in a positive position. most of the public polls have the race within four points. when dynamic of the race is that there had not been general election ads. jeff blake had a primary which you run pretty handily. rich went on the air last week. there's a lot of room for him to grow. we have been focused on registration and turning out hispanic voters in arizona. we will see that race stay in a margin of error rate all the

way to the very end. >> talk about illinois. >> it is a terrific state. we have a lot of opportunities. joe walsh, the more he says the better we do. the advertising strategy i recommend. robert dole is very endangered. all the polling we have seen, there has not been a lot of communicating. he is doubt in the low-40's. what is important about the tide races is you have to think about where is the push going to come from? i maintain the districts that are tighter now. he isn't does even endorse the republican nominee. very competitive. the polling has been terrific. our expenditure is up

there. the communicating just started. i think we'll see the numbers move to tighten up very quickly. >> thank you so much for being here. we're going to take a quick break and bring up duffy. >> our final panel of the morning, we have the jennifer duffy, the senator. these folks know what is going on in tell us everything that they just said is not quite true. but start with you. what did you hear from romney? where does the senate landscape stand today? >> i do not think he was overstating much when he said that the landscape has changed.

when this cycle started, we call this an exposure election for democrats. they had more retirements. is it the place for places like nebraska and north dakota. i think a couple of things have happened to make things a little more competitive. they recruited some really good candidates. they benefited from things that happen to republicans. olympia snowe retiring in maine is a big one. it would not have been competitive if she had run. it is now likely to be won by an independent who is likely to caucus with democrats. a couple of weeks ago we had tom akin, two words that changed everything.

i thought i was the republicans' best opportunity to defeat an incumbent. i moved it into likely democratic. i cannot see how he would get 50%. misery is a republican leaning state now. i think the race will be close. i do not see how they can win it under any circumstances. there have been benefits. i think they're running a good race in indiana. i'm not quite sold on arizona yet. the general election is less than seven days old, one thing he said was that the candidates is 20% and it is september. they have a lot of work to do

there. it is up to 55%. it looks very different now than it looked at the beginning of february. >> what did you hear from robbie? what is your sense of the national landscape? we have listened to republicans and democrats say the will pick up seats. what is the truth and? >> both sides are claiming momentum. for the first time there is no breeze blowing for

congressional elections. august was generally a pretty good month for democrats. democrats were hoping that the right to pick with do two things, should the conversation to medicare and focus voter attention to house republicans who are unpopular. i see this as a more 5 our energy during for democrats then a vitamin shots. it is very difficult to get them to pay attention to popular leaders in the house. independent voters, while they hate congress and are at a loss, they do not know who to blame. they are evenly divided between blaming barack obama's party and the tea party. this is a democratic poll. in the generic congressional ballot, republicans held a 47% to 46% lead. that was the only reputable ballot i have seen. in a good 2008, president obama won his entire margin of victory from just 29 at the americas 3100 counties. less than 1% of all american counties.

what does obama is a performance mean for congressional democrats? here's the problem. when you have such supersaturated counties that the obama campaign is focused on, house democrats are lagging behind in a lot of swing districts. obama is running up the score. in a lot of the swing districts, you have democrats who are suffering from obama's standing. i could see a scenario where obama wins reelection nearly

but democrats only pick up between zero and five seats in the house because obama is a drag to the majority of the swing districts. a very challenging environment. >> let's talk about the senate races we did not talk to. democrats are not doing as well as they wanted to. one has new the farthest away from democrats of things to a primary. >> wisconsin has been a fascinating race. we did have this very long primary in wisconsin where you had essentially three competitive candidates fighting the conservative vote. did the guy who emerged is tommy thompson is a very no quantity in the state. people do not see him as a very conservative. they see him as a guy who

believes in common-sense solutions to did a lot for reform in wisconsin when he was governor. that was republican's best outcome. the democrats have strong candidates. she was largely ignored, tammy baldwin. they have seen over $100 million in advertising. she's finally getting some attention out there. the polling i've seen generally sees thompson ahead by a few points. they have their own primary. this race has just gotten started. >> in connecticut, suddenly this is on the ballot. >> it is interesting. i always get what is your sleeper race.

my response is usually, if i know what it is it is not a surprise. i have been citing connecticut's. i've seen a good bit of data in there that both public and private suggests that the republican linda mcmahon is running even or ahead. i think she's running a strong campaign. she learned a lot from her campaign in 2010. she spent a lot of time accepting what went wrong, fixing it. now she is running against chris murphy who is not well known in connecticut. here's the thing you have to remember. a good part of the state is covered by the new york media market. it is a very expensive state to get known in. he did not have much of a primary. it did not get a lot of

attention. i think that linda mcmahon has put him on defenses as a member of congress. voters seem to like her outside message. can she overcome the performance of? that is a good question. here is my question. is it going to have the impact it had not good 2010 or have voters already heard it and process it and might not have as much bang as it did? >> jennifer said one of my favorite things, a sleeper races. one interesting point that seems to argue against democrat voting is the fact that in their first six advertisements

the outside group had the house majority, four of the ads have been defensive, have argued in favor of a democratic incumbents. rather than in a seat that democrats are trying to win back. this seems to suggest there are still republican targets. >> if we go through our list of the most competitive races out there, we have 21 republican seats that are in tossup or worse. we have 15 democratic seats that are in tossup or worse. that sounds like a relatively even playing field to me. are democrats going to pick up seats like joe walsh in illinois? absolutely.

by the same token, under republican side we have seven democratic seats that republicans are leaning are likely to pick up including a lot of open seats ranging from mike cross in arkansas. these are real trouble spots where the bottom has not fallen out yet in the house. there are a number of other democratic incumbents who are at substantial risk of losing reelection. there are a few democrats who cannot blame redistricting for their very close races. john tierney in massachusetts. the democrats do have to play a substantial amount of defense. the house springfield is more evenly balanced than it ever has been since 2004. >> there is a contrast between the senate democrats and house democrats. the senate democrats have done in great job of recruiting these candidates.

there are a number of seats in california where there have been some serious recruitments. >> i think if there is one development in the house race this year that really moved erase more than three columns it was not in michigan. that was a pretty remarkable exit from congress. i would actually argue that it was in california's 31st district, most not think of it as the battleground in the house. on election night, i remember we were having a back and forth on twitter about the potential for the democratic candidates in the latino district to not even make one of the top two places on the ballot to advance.

when the mayor got third place in that primary behind to republicans, it is sure that a republican would prevail in a democratic leaning state in november. this set democratic chances back. that is a seat that democrats really have to defer an opportunity until 2014. i think democrats will let a couple of seats out of california and illinois. republicans have their fair share of opportunities. those states are not looking quite as fruitful as they did. >> if there's one thing we hear from democrat it is north dakota. they are really happy that heidi is there.

>> she is a really known quantity in the state. she's running on things like the keystone pipeline. she is a very likable person. the republican candidate is rick. he got elected in 2010. how many dollars were thrown at him? >> something like 200 boat tours. >> it was a couple million

dollars in negative ads. he is not really recovered from that. he may not. they are going to end of spending a lot of money there. in the senate is always a balancing act. i think if you as a democrat in january what they thought they would put away by now, they might have told you massachusetts. it is still a very close race. the agreement that they reached an outside spending since everybody a lot of money. it also makes the race more interesting. >> let's talk about a couple of incumbent democrats that they are spending a little bit of money on in florida and ohio. i feel like these were less interesting earlier in the year. >> especially florida where i have never seen a republican so contested.

i think that the larger point about florida and ohio is we are beginning to see these races lined up with the presidential contest. there is this polarized electorate. that has very little to do with who is running. i am going to get a lot of credit to democrats. they really stepped on it josh mandel's but and not really letting him go far. 34 years old. he did two tours of duty. he is been an amazing fund-raiser. i think democrats have done a very good job of defining him and talking about his record. republicans have spent millions on the air there. brown has compelled his ground there. a florida i think is an interesting situation where nelson has not had a race in a

while. florida has become much more polarized. he just won a primary couple of weeks ago. it was not much of one. he is a guy whose name is well-known. his father was a senator. his grandfather of baseball fame. it is very shallow. i think that the race needs a couple of weeks to bake. >> let's talk a little bit of california. this seems like the most interesting state where redistricting is thrown

open. in number of seats in the last decade, there is one seat that lived. >> we have 265 elections over the past 10 years. 53 districts. in just one did a seat change partisan hands. that is amazing considering the waves we have had in 2008, 2010. you hear a lot of people say california really needed this redistricting reform. there are going to be some shakeups. we have already seen six or seven requirements -- retirement in california. now that the primary system has taken up at in california, there are a couple of races out there i think there is a

democrat versus a democrat or a republican versus a republican. there is going to be an interesting question over the next 10 years. with this giving candidates more of an incentive to reach across the aisle, i wonder whether california's going to have a much more compromise delegation in the coming decade. overall, i think democrats will probably net two or three seats out of the state. >> i want to open it up to any of your questions. >> i would like to ask david where he sees a blue dog democrat ending up after this election. >> it is a really tough road for blue dogs. one of the fascinating

statistics about this cycle is that for the first time ever in minority of one party's caucus. they are down to 53% of house democrats right now. based on the forecast it will be down to 46% or 48%. it is a distillation of the democratic caucus down to its core base of support. one-half of that is the new majority/minority districts you see. the other side of the coin is the diminishment of a blue dog influence in the house. in 2008, we saw 53 blue dog democrats elected to the house.

these members went from being some of the most influential members of the house to after 2010 some of the least influential members because they went from being the ideological fulcrum of the house to being a minority within the minority party. you do not see a lot of incentive. this is part of the reason why the numbers will be there in 2013. >> we have about 20 students here from the institute that came down. the race is important to us. have you ever seen so much lying this cycle? >> what do you think about ohio? >> i do think ohio is getting closer.

i think it is mostly the presidential race. i could make a case for romney winning ohio and sherrod brown winning ohio as long as it remains close. for some of these democratic candidates in swing states, they can run a little bit ahead of obama. if obama were losing the state, they have a problem. this is one stage where outside groups have invested heavily and early.

part of it is sherrod brown's voting record. it has worked to a degree. i have come to the conclusion that dollar and outside group spends, and do not think it has the same punch as the candidates had. brown has run a strong campaign. i do not think mandel has run a bad campaign. i still put my money right now on sherrod brown. >> how do you see the senate races in nevada and hawaii is shaping up? >> i am making a play to go cover hawaii for the rest of the cycle. i am losing. hawaii is a really tough state for republicans. it is the president's home state. republicans have a really good

candidate in linda. she is run a terrific campaign. she has beaten her once in the 2002 governor's race. what l'engle has to do is walk a fine line. this is to convince voters to separate their vote between the presidential and senate race. that is a really hard thing to do. i still have that race in tossup. then we have nevada. nevada is one of those states that is getting near the center of the political universe. i am still recovering from 2010. you have republican and dean heller. the congressman is shelly

berkeley. i think they both have their challenges. heller's challenge is he is new to this thing of serving in the senate. he had to get known in some places. she is well known in las vegas but she is not well known and most of the northern part of the state, especially washington county. it is a really critical battleground there. her other challenge is that she's under investigation by the house ethics committee for

essentially working off regulatory matters that directly benefit did her husband financially. to me it was interesting that they even took up this case. this added to do in july because in december in a matter what happens, she is no longer in their jurisdiction. they cannot do anything about it. one of the strings she does have is being a democrat and having all the efforts that harry reid has put into building the party in last four-six years as a tim in 2010. it is pretty well of an oiled operation. she really has to improve for standing in washington county. right now she's trailing by

about 15 or 20 points. i think this is going to be a really close race. i think it will be a great race that nobody really talks about a lot. >> i think it is the best contrast between two candidates we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today. we have seen today.

we have seen today. that backfired with a lot of suburban voters who were out of the district, so that's absolutely a bellwether race in the rocky mountain west that democrats need to win if they're going to have any shot at picking up double digits in the house. >> any other races we should be watching? >> well, let me pick a pair of open seats in states that aren't competitive at the presidential level, but are competitive at jennifer's level. connecticut's fifth district, actually the district that chris murphy, a democrat, is vacating to run for senate, that's a very fascinating race between elizabeth estes on the democratic side, endorsed by emily's list, and andrew rohrbach, one of the last genuinely moderates in new england, a state senator, a

republican nominee there. i give the edge to estes, but it's going to be very interesting, especially with the closeness of the senate race in that district. rick berg in north dakota running for senate, leaving behind north dakota's at-large representative seat, and this is actually a fascinating race that very few people are paying attention to. kevin kramer, statewide office holder on the republican side, had to basically overthrow the state republican party's pick in order to win the primary with a lot of tea party support. the republican nominee against a former state rep on the democratic side, very strong candidate. very, very scrappy democratic tradition, so that's going to be an interesting race to follow as well. >> all right. jennifer, david, thank you very much. thank you to everybody who showed up. thank you to our c-span viewers. really appreciate it. don't forget to come back for all of national journal's

events throughout the next couple of days. thanks again. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> the national journal hosts another daily briefing this morning at 9:30 eastern. they'll talk to a panel of campaign managers and political strategists. you can watch it live here on c-span as part of our live convention coverage from charlotte, north carolina. coming up next -- coverage of the 202 presidential race. first lady michelle obama speaks to hispanic delegates in charlotte, north carolina. then last night's convention speeches by senate candidate elizabeth warren and former president bill clinton. >> c-span's gavel-to-gavel coverage of the democratic convention continues tonight with the acceptance speeches by both joe biden and president obama. every minute, every speech, live on c-span, c-span radio, and online at c-span.org, and

use our convention hub to make and share video clips. >> our mission was to defend the poor. to deliver the needy. to reach out, to say america is red, yellow, brown, black, and white, that we're all precious in god's sights. >> when president obama made healthcare a right, not a privilege for all americans, that was a change that brought hope to millions. >> watch convention speeches -- >> this platform is a clear choice between economic pathways, forward or back, inclusion or exclusion, grow together as a nation, or be a country of savage disparities that favor the fortune few. >> connect with other c-span viewers with twitter, and

google hangouts. >> it's not a lot of fun, but it's a lot of stand in line and hurry up and wait too. i got tired of that in the army. i don't know if i want to be a delegate. >> convention hub at c-span.org/campaign2012. >> one day after a convention speech, first lady michelle obama rallied hispanic delegates in charlotte, north carolina, asking the crowd to work like you've never worked before in the runup to the presidential election. the first lady urged them to continue their financial support and travel to swing states if possible. this is 15 minutes. >> oh, my goodness! i'm still thrilled! i'm a little sleepy.

but so happy to be here today. thank you so much. i want to start by thanking iris for not just the very kind introduction, but it's tree. she said she's just a state senator. let me just make clear -- barack obama was weaned on state senator. he got here because he learned how to do it doing what iris has been doing. i'm so proud of you, iris. it's so wonderful to see you, and just keep doing what you're doing. let's give her another round of applause. so, how about that opening night last night? the energy, the enthusiasm that we saw last night, it really made it clear.

the folks are pretty fired up and ready to go, which is a very good thing. but more importantly, last night truly set the stage for what's at stake in this election. we can't overlook that, and what we need to do to guide us forward for these next four years. the evening really reflected barack's broad, inclusive vision for this country as a place where every single one of us has something very unique and very special to contribute. and we should all have a fair chance to make it in this country if we're willing to work for it, which i know we are. so today i'm not going to talk long, because i talked a lot last night, but i want to say thank you all for the critical role that you play in making

that vision a reality. >> love you, michelle! >> love you, babe. love you so much. but i want to thank you for everything that you all do every single day to lift up our communities. you all are doing that hard work, that hard work on the ground to keep moving this country forward. and whether it's building good schools that prepare our kids for good jobs and good opportunities and all of our kids deserve that opportunity, whether it's passing health reform so that families don't go broke, because someone gets sick, whether it's helping folks stay in their homes or fighting for the dream act so that all of our children have opportunities worthy of their dreams and their promise, and all of our kids are worthy. that's what my husband knows. my husband has been working hard to build a ladder to the middle class for all americans

so that we can all go as far as our talent and our hard work can take us. and i know that's why all of you are here today. you came here because you know that all of that is at stake. it's all on the line. and i know you're here today because you believe, like i believe, that my husband has been an extraordinary president and that he has the vision, the vision, the character, the wisdom, the courage, the experience to keep this country moving forward for the next four years. but make no mistake about it, this election is about even more than just the issues at stake right now. and it's about even more than the candidates that are on the ballot this year. this election, more than anything else, and more than any other in history, is about how we want our democracy to

function for decades to come. i mean, think about it. it's about the lessons we want our kids and grand kids to learn as they watch these campaigns and they see those election results on november 6. so we have to step back and ask ourselves, do we want to give the message that a few individuals have a far bigger say in our democracy than anybody else? to wet our elections to be all about who buys the most ads on tv? do we want our kids and grand kids to walk away from this election feeling like regular folks? -- feeling like regular folks can no longer be heard? or -- that was a little confusing. we got excited on this side. or, are we going to show them that here in america we all

have an equal voice in the voting booth, and we all have a say in this country's future, and a bottom-up, grass roots movement of people who love this country can always come together to move it forward. what do we want to do? but make no mistake about it, with every call that you make, understand, because this is where the work comes in, right? we can give good speeches and be all enthusiastic, but the bottom line is the work. and every call you make with every door you knock on, with every voter you register, you all are providing the answers to those questions. you all are providing it, you all are making a powerful statement about how we want our democracy to work. and by taking part in the democratic process that for more than two centuries has

made america the greatest country on earth, you all are helping to preserve that legacy for generations to come. that's also what this is about. so we don't have a single minute to waste. you know, we truly don't. the time is of the essence. we're going to need all of you to work like you've never worked before. we're going to need every single one of you to get out there every single day between now and november 6. and i know do -- and i know you do. i have seen it. truly, i have seen it. i've been out there. i've been working hard, traveling around the country. and let me tell you, we have a first-rate campaign. i am so proud of our campaign.

we have thousands of offices all over the country, we have leaders making calls every single day, to work on the ground. we have so many ways for people to get involved in this campaign. so if you're wondering, well, if i haven't taken this step, what do i do? simple, go to barackobama.com. go there today and sign up to get involved. roll up your sleeves and get something done. and you all know that this election is about those battleground states, right? so don't worry if you don't see a lot of action in your state because you're not in a battleground state. this is about the battleground states.

but if you don't live in a battleground state, then get to one. get to a battleground state. find one near you. if you can afford to write a check, then write a check. if you've written a check and you have it maxed out, max out. but more importantly, the real power comes from you as individuals. you know, make sure that every single person you know within the reach of your arm, within the sound of your voice, all your friends, your neighbors, that nephew you haven't seen since christmas, the college roommate you haven't spoken to, congregation members, whoever it may be, make sure every single one of them gets to the

polls and casts their votes. because as barack said, this election is going to be even closer than the last one. and all elections are close. they have been since i have been paying attention. they're always close. >> make ohio blue! >> make it blue! but understand, i just try to help people put this in perspective, because in the end, this election could come down to those last few thousand votes in some of those key battleground states like ohio and virginia and florida. we can name them all. i'm not sure about nebraska, but we want every vote in nebraska that we can get. but just think back to 2008. back then, we won florida by 236,000 votes.

and while that might sound like a lot, that's just 36 votes per precinct. we've done those numbers, because it's important to understand just how crucial every little bit means. 36 votes, right? you can picture that. and if you think that's close, don't forget that we won north carolina by just 14,000 votes. that's just five votes per precinct, five. so, starting the minute you get up out of these chairs, we need to you get out there and get those 36 votes, right? we need to you get those five votes. and then when you get those five, get five more. and after that, keep getting five, because we all know -- we

all know somebody, right? we all know five people, we all know 36 people that can make the difference in the election, and we need you to do that work and don't stop until the polls close on november 6. because what you all do every day for the next 62 days will make the difference between us waking up on november 7 and asking ourselves, could we have done more, or feeling the promise of four more years. four more years. >> four more years! four more years! >> with your help. with your help. i guess i don't have to ask you, are you fired up? are you ready to go? are you ready to roll up your sleeves? work harder than you've ever

worked before. we can get this done. and i look forward to working with all of you all on the campaign trail. get out there. let's get it done. thank you all. god bless. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] all this week, "washington journal" is live from charlotte, north carolina. on today's program, a popular local news anchor, also emily's list president on women voters, and dr. edward kim with the levine cancer institute in

north carolina will discuss healthcare in the state. it all begins live with your phone calls at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. >> during the republican and democratic conventions, we're asking middle and high school students to send a message to the president as part of this year's c-span student cam video documentary competition. in a short video, students will answer the question, what's the most important issue the president should consider in 2013? it's a chance to win a grand prize of $5,000, and there's $50,000 in total prizes available. c-span's student cam video competition is open to students grades six through 12. for complete details and rules, go online to studentcam.org. >> last night, the democrats officially named barack obama as their presidential candidate. the nominating speech was made by former president bill clinton. the former president argued for re-electing barack obama,

saying he's cool on the outside, but burns for america on the inside. before bill clinton, delegates heard from senate candidate elizabeth warren. she's running against incumbent scott brown in massachusetts. >> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. i'm a lett warren. thank you. thank you. i'm elizabeth warren, and this is my first democratic convention. >> i never thought i'd run for

the senate, and i sure never dreamed that i'd be the warm-up act for president bill clinton. he's an amazing man who had the good sense to marry one of the coolest women on this planet. i want to give a shout out to the massachusetts delegation. i'm counting on to you help me win and to help president obama win. i'm here tonight to talk about hard working people, people who get up early, stay up late, cook dinner and help out with homework, people who can be counted on to help their kids, their parents, their neighbors, and a lady down the street whose car broke down. people who work their hearts out, but are up against a hard truth. the game is rigged against them.

it wasn't always this way. like a lot of you, i grew up in a family on the ragged edges of the middle class. my daddy sold carpeting and ended up as a maintenance man. after he had a heart attack, my mom worked the phone at sears so we could hang on to our house. all three of my brothers served in the military. one was career, the second a good union job in construction, and the third started a small business. me? i was waiting tables at 13 and married at 19. i graduated from public schools and taught elementary school. i have a wonderful husband, two great children, and three beautiful grandchildren. and i'm grateful down to my toes for every opportunity that america gave me. this is a great country.

i grew up in an america that invested in its kids and built a strong middle class that allowed millions of children to rise from poverty and establish secure lives, an america that created social security and medicare so that seniors could live with dignity, an america in which each generation built something solid so that the next generation could build something better. but now, for many years, our middle class has been chipped, squeezed, and hammered. i talked to the construction worker who went nine months without finding work. talk to the head of a manufacturing company in franklin, trying to protect jobs, but worried about rising costs.

talk to the student in worcester who worked hard to finish his degree, and now he's drowning in debt. their fight is my fight, and it's barack obama's fight too. that's right, yes. people feel like the system is rigged against them, and here's the painful part. they're right. the system is rigged. look around. oil companies guzzle down billions in profits. billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. and wall street's c.e.o.'s, the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs, still strut around congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we

should thank them. does anyone here have a problem with that? i do too. i talked to small business owners all across massachusetts, and not one of them, not one, made big bucks from the risky bets that brought down our economy. i talked to nurses and programmers, sales people and firefighters, people who bust their tails every day, and not one of them, not one, stashes their money in the cayman islands to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. these folks don't resent that someone else made we are americans. good we celebrate success. we just do not want the game to be rigged.

about a century ago when corrosive read threatened our way of life, and the american -- corrosive greed threaten our way of life, americans came together. under the leadership of teddy roosevelt and other progressives to bring our nation back from the brink. give we started to take children out of factories and put them in schools. we began to give meaning to the word consumer protection by making food and medicine saves, and we gave the little guy's a better chance to compete by preventing the big guys from reading the markets. -- rigging the market we turn adversity into progress because that's what we do. [applause] americans are fighters. we are resourceful and creative, and if we have the chance to